


Night Gratitude

by GabyU07



Category: Naruto
Genre: Again fluff because i need this in my life, F/M, I want him to be happy and loved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26324236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GabyU07/pseuds/GabyU07
Summary: It was his first night out of prison and she wasn't going to leave him alone. Not now and not ever.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	Night Gratitude

**Author's Note:**

> I got inspired by a song...again. It was hard not to think about these two while listening to it so don’t judge me. 
> 
> Song: All I Want by Emma Bale.

_ Sakura, 13 years old. _

**_ All I want is nothing more _ **

**_ To hear you knocking at my door _ **

**_ 'Cause if I could see your face once more _ **

**_ I could die a happy girl I'm sure _ **

**__ **

**_ When you said your last goodbye _ **

**_ I died a little bit inside _ **

**_ And I lay in tears in bed all night _ **

**_ Alone without you by my side _ **

“ _Thank you”._

Although those words were said in a sincere tone and carried all the gratitude he felt within them, she couldn’t actually get to feel the full meaning behind them as her vision went black and everything around her disappeared. He had knocked her out.

‘ _Please don’t go, don’t leave me...Sasuke_ ’  was the last thought she got to think and the only one that remained, echoing inside her unconscious mind until she woke next morning.  Alone . She felt the tears already trailing down her cheeks. ‘ _ I couldn’t make him stay, I failed...again’  _ she kept beating herself.

“Please Naruto, bring Sasuke back to me”.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring Sasuke back, I promise on my life!”.

“Thank you, Naruto”.

She watched through blurred vision how they were making their way to recover him, to save him. They were the best at the task, she knew that, and if there was someone left capable of making him reason into coming back, that was Naruto. But deep down, a low and cold voice kept whispering her that they wouldn't make it. ‘ _He won't come back, certainly not for you’_.  She let herself have faith in that moment but she didn’t know how right that voice was.

They all nearly died. And he was  _ gone _ .

The night after their return with empty hands, when she let everything sink in, she felt herself die a little bit inside. It all started, perhaps, as a silly child’s crush but after getting to spend time with him and get to know (partially) him, the whole thing evolved to actual love. Maybe it was stupid of her, she actually knew that bit, to love someone who clearly didn’t love you back and most of the time didn’t spend two glances at you, but she couldn’t help it. There was just _something_ about him, that made her give him her heart the first moment her eyes landed on him.

But now he was gone and he took a part of her with him. She never felt so helpless until now, knowing that there was absolutely nothing she or anyone could do to make him come back. All that was left, was for him to walk the terrible path he chose and let himself be tinted with darkness.

_ Sasuke, 18 years old. _

_** So you brought out the best of me ** _

_** A part of me I've never seen ** _

_** You took my soul and wiped it clean ** _

_** Our love was made for movie scenes ** _

This was his first night after he was let out of prison. Bittersweet. For some reason the whole thing felt bittersweet. He should’ve felt closer to happy: the war was over, neither of his best friends died, he was pardoned for all the awful things he had done, he didn’t have to spend another night tied up and blindfolded in that cold cell and people was starting to see him as some sort of war hero because of his deeds at the end of it, this of course, thank to the idiot (Naruto) and Kakashi.

But the truth was that he couldn’t bring himself to feel happy. He was feeling ashamed and felt regret for everything he managed to do in the last few years to his friends, to his brother, to the world in general. Even when many people seemed to have forgiven him, including the most affected ones (Naruto and Sakura), he just couldn’t forgive himself.

He didn’t want to go to his place, he wasn’t even sure it still was standing or that it was still his to be honest, so actually he didn’t have many options when it came to where to go and he didn’t want to bother anyone either. It was getting late when he settled for just walking around the village, observing everything and everyone as he passed by without being really noticed. He saw the bright smiles and happy faces, celebrating the ever waited peace; he also saw the sad smiles and mournful gazes, meant for the ones that weren’t there anymore. He wandered around, watching people come and go, until the streets began to have less and less movement.

After walking aimlessly for a while, he found himself in a very well known place. It was a dock, more precisely, it was the dock where his father first taught him his fireball jutsu. The universe or his subconscient had a very dark sense of humor, of all the places he could’ve ended up, he had to end up there. ‘ _Great_ ’ he thought bitterly. Almost without his consent, his feet began moving towards the end of the dock, where they stopped. He thoughtfully watched the reflection of the stars and the full moon on the small lake, the sky was clear that night and the stars were twinkling like tiny fireworks as if saying “welcome home”.

He sat on the edge of it and just stayed there, enjoying the peacefulness the place brought him, as well as the memories. He didn’t know how long he stayed like that when he felt a presence, a familiar one, approaching him with hesitant steps.

“Aa...Sakura”.

He didn’t need to turn to know it was her, he just knew. He came to be very familiar with her presence, as well as Naruto’s. Since they were basically the only ones who visited him during his time in prison, after a while he noticed he was able to tell them apart from others, even when he was blindfolded. But there was just something about Sakura, that he simply would be able to recognize her for just her breathing.

“It shouldn’t surprise me that you always seem to know where I am” He said, his lips slightly curving upwards.

“I didn’t really know, I suppose it was a lucky guess” She smiled softly stopping beside him.

“What are you doing here?”.

“Kakashi told us they would let you go today but when we got there, you were already gone”.

She waited but he didn’t say anything. She sighed and sat beside him taking a quick glance at his face. His expression was as blank as ever but there was a glimpse of something in his eyes, something she couldn’t put her finger on. While she thought about it, she turned her face and just then took notice of the sight before her. The clear sky, the astonishing big moon, the tiny million stars that resembled well polished diamonds and the mirror like lake, the whole scene was just breathtaking.

“This is beautiful”. She muttered, amazed by the view.

“Hn”.

They stayed like that for a while, neither of them saying anything and just enjoying each other’s company. She was the first to break the silence.

“Sasuke-kun...are you okay?”.

_ Silence _ . Just when she thought he wasn’t going to say anything, he spoke.

“My father taught me my first jutsu in this place”. He said quietly not looking at her.

She didn’t know what she was expecting but it wasn’t certainly that. After her initial shock at the sudden memory, she quickly smiled at him.

“I didn’t know that... I bet you managed to dominate it in an hour like always”. She teased him, nudging him on the side.

“Actually, It took me a week to master it” He smirked. She always thought so highly of him.

“That’s still pretty fast considering that you were probably 5 at the time” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right”.

“I’m sure your father was proud of you”.

“He was” He said simply staring absently at the lake.

_ Silence again. _

“ You never answered my question, you know”. She mumbled looking at him.

“Hn?”.

“Are you okay?”.

“I’m fine” He stated dryly.

“You don’t seem okay” She said glancing down at her hands. “I-I know there’s something troubling you”.

Again, she thought that she wasn’t going to get any answers from him. ‘ _Why does he has to be this stubborn?_ ’ she thought lightly shaking her head.

“I shouldn’t be here”. He whispered but she still heard him.

“Here? In the village?”. She inquired confused.

“Alive. I shouldn’t be alive”.

‘ _What_? ’ She stared at him in disbelief. How could he say that? After everything that happened, why would he say such a thing?. He quickly glanced at her and upon seeing her expression, he scoffed.

“After everything I did, they shouldn’t have even let me out of prison Sakura”.

She frowned. “You redeemed yourself after everything you did at the end of the war. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you and Naruto”.

“I’m far away from redemption”. He said fixing his eyes on the lake again.

“That’s not true”.

“Why did you even forgave me?” He shot back at her, loosing his cool for a moment.

She looked at him for a second without any reaction, then a soft smile formed in her lips. She shook her head, turning her gaze to the sky.

“You might be a genius, but you were always clueless”.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”.

“I don’t think you are a bad person Sasuke-kun...you just made bad choices”.

He snorted. “That’s not enough to forgive something like what I did to you”.

“Hmm you’re actually right about that”. She hummed still gazing at the sky.

“About what?”.

“That’s not enough, there’s more of it”.

He arched a brow at her in a silent question. She looked at him and sighed.

“It wasn’t a lie back then, it wasn’t a silly crush either or just the love of a friend”. She muttered.

“What ar-“.

He stopped himself when she took his hand. He stared at their hands, tangled together before turning his gaze to her again. She hesitantly lifted her other hand a cupped his face before speaking.

“I forgave you because  _ I love you _ Sasuke”.

To be fair, he already knew that, it’s not like she had never told him that before. But there was a tone so  _ pure _ in the way she said it this time, that it sparked something warm inside of him. He could only stare at those amazingly green eyes of hers. She caressed his cheek and he couldn’t help but close his eyes, then she pulled him closer to her, embracing him. He didn’t move.

“I’ve always have and I think I always will” She whispered in his ear. “You stole my heart away the first time I saw you”.

His vision blurred and he felt his eyes throbbing. Slowly, he lifted his arms, encircling her with them and burying his face in the crook of her neck, taking in her sweet scent. They held each other like that for a while before she pulled away and grabbed his face between her hands.

“I promise you I will never leave you alone”.

Smiling at him, she leaned towards his face and kissed him sweetly. It wasn’t a passionate type of kiss but a welcoming, comforting one. She wanted him to know she was going to be always there for him, no matter what happened or what he did, she would always be by his side.

Despite having his doubts at first, he finally let go and melted into the kiss. After that final battle with Naruto, he began to feel dirty, ashamed of the horrible things he had done, something that just increased during his time in prison. He could feel the darkness that marked him during all those years away, tinting every part of him, making him feel heavy with sorrow and guilt, and he thought he could never get rid of it.

_ Until now. _

He felt light, like he hadn’t felt since he was a kid. With every passing moment of having her there with him, he felt something growing inside him. It was like if with every kiss, every hug, with every  _ touch _ she was cleaning him. Cleaning away the darkness from his mind, his heart and his  _ soul _ . All her light and kindness was spreading over his aching and broken heart, healing it and putting it back together. When she pulled away and looked at him, a small smile graced his lips.

“ _ Thank you _ _”_.

And in those two words she just knew what he meant, just like that night all those years ago, and most importantly, what  she meant to him. The moon kept shining above and the stars kept twinkling while they happily embraced each other, sharing that small but meaningful moment, feeling whole and in peace for the first time in a long time.


End file.
